PESHAWAR, March 16: The transporters on Sunday announced a 20 per cent increase in the public transport fares, which would be effective from Tuesday, following a similar decision on March 7 in which they had brought about a 35 per cent raise in the fares.

Sarhad Transport Owners Confederation president Haji Zahir Shah Yousufzai, when contacted, told Dawn that the increase in the petroleum products second time on Saturday within weeks, had forced the transporters to raise their fares as they could not meet even the routine expenditures.

About the ratio of increase in the fare of the intercity buses, he said, it would also be increased as they had to pay an extra Rs400 for meeting the fuel charges for a single trip to Lahore and then to Peshawar. He said they had been charging per passenger Rs350 so far in the air conditioned buses from Peshawar to Lahore, but Rs25 were initially increased due to the recent rise in diesel prices.

He admitted that many transporters had already started overcharging the passengers but said after taking a unified step the transporters would defend their decision and would be in a position to protest in case of any action by the government.

The 25 per cent increase, he said, would be implemented after the transporters’ grand meeting to be attended by all 28 members of the federation on Tuesday in Peshawar.

Another leader of the federation, Haji Jehangir Afridi, in a statement said, they would also increase the fare in the urban and rural transport. He asked the administration to officially announce an increase of Rs2 for per bus stop in Peshawar.

The ever-increasing prices of petroleum products, he said, had forced many transporters to switch over to other business activities. He said it was ironic that the decision to increase the prices of petroleum products was implemented immediately after the announcement, but the fares were not increased officially and the transports had to face the wrath of both the government and the passengers as well.

He asked the government to issue an amended fare list to the transporters in consultation with the concerned office-bearers of the transporters’ federation as soon as possible. An official of the Provincial Transport Authority (PTA), when contacted, pleading his anonymity said that the authority had no role in the prevailing circumstances. He said the caretaker set up was unable to take any step as its time in the office was over.

He said the issue was so serious that the new government would not dare to take a decision against the interest of the transporters, adding that the PTA could not alone notify the increase without directives from the provincial government.